0:00:00.996,0:00:03.073
Tonight, I'm going to try to make the case

0:00:03.073,0:00:07.699
that inviting a loved one, a friend[br]or even a stranger

0:00:07.699,0:00:10.130
to record a meaningful interview with you

0:00:10.130,0:00:14.536
just might turn out to be one of the most [br]important moments in that person's life,

0:00:14.536,0:00:17.481
and in yours.

0:00:17.481,0:00:20.825
When I was 22 years old,[br]I was lucky enough to find my calling

0:00:20.825,0:00:23.285
when I fell into making radio stories.

0:00:23.285,0:00:25.719
At almost the exact same time,

0:00:25.719,0:00:30.688
I found out that my dad,[br]who I was very, very close to, was gay.

0:00:30.688,0:00:32.990
I was taken completely by surprise.

0:00:32.990,0:00:35.498
We were a very tight-knit family,

0:00:35.498,0:00:37.889
and I was crushed.

0:00:37.889,0:00:40.234
At some point, in one[br]of our strained conversations,

0:00:40.234,0:00:42.904
my dad mentioned the Stonewall riots.

0:00:42.904,0:00:46.178
He told me that one night in 1969,

0:00:46.178,0:00:48.883
a group of young black[br]and Latino drag queens

0:00:48.883,0:00:52.529
fought back against the police[br]at a gay bar in Manhattan

0:00:52.529,0:00:54.549
called the Stonewall Inn,

0:00:54.549,0:00:58.078
and how this sparked[br]the modern gay rights movement.

0:00:58.078,0:01:01.417
It was an amazing story,[br]and it piqued my interest.

0:01:01.417,0:01:05.628
So I decided to pick up my tape [br]recorder and find out more.

0:01:05.628,0:01:09.804
With the help of a young archivist[br]named Michael Shirker,

0:01:09.804,0:01:12.381
we tracked down all[br]of the people we could find

0:01:12.381,0:01:15.817
who had been at[br]the Stonewall Inn that night.

0:01:15.817,0:01:17.814
Recording these interviews,

0:01:17.814,0:01:20.043
I saw how the microphone[br]gave me the license

0:01:20.043,0:01:22.779
to go places I otherwise[br]never would have gone

0:01:22.779,0:01:26.912
and talk to people I might not[br]otherwise ever have spoken to.

0:01:26.912,0:01:28.754
I had the privilege of getting to know

0:01:28.754,0:01:32.648
some of the most amazing,[br]fierce and courageous human beings

0:01:32.648,0:01:34.830
I had ever met.

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It was the first time[br]the story of Stonewall

0:01:36.934,0:01:38.986
had been told to a national audience.

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I dedicated the program to my dad,

0:01:41.249,0:01:46.715
it changed my relationship with him,[br]and it changed my life.

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Over the next 15 years,[br]I made many more radio documentaries,

0:01:51.617,0:01:55.681
working to shine a light on people[br]who are rarely heard from in the media.

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Over and over again,

0:01:57.260,0:01:59.860
I'd see how this simple act[br]of being interviewed

0:01:59.860,0:02:02.020
could mean so much to people,

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particularly those who had been told[br]that their stories didn't matter.

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I could literally see[br]people's back straighten

0:02:08.080,0:02:10.866
as they started to speak[br]into the microphone.

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In 1998, I made a documentary[br]about the last flophouse hotels

0:02:15.371,0:02:17.762
on the Bowery in Manhattan.

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Guys stayed up in these[br]cheap hotels for decades.

0:02:20.432,0:02:22.824
They lived in cubicles[br]the size of prison cells

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covered with chicken wire

0:02:24.124,0:02:27.088
so you couldn't jump[br]from one room into the next.

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Later, I wrote a book on the men[br]with the photographer Harvey Wang.

0:02:31.067,0:02:35.491
I remember walking into a flophouse[br]with an early version of the book

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and showing one of the guys his page.

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He stood there staring at it in silence,

0:02:40.354,0:02:42.653
then he grabbed the book out of my hand

0:02:42.653,0:02:46.136
and started running down[br]the long, narrow hallway

0:02:46.136,0:02:47.645
holding it over his head

0:02:47.645,0:02:52.010
shouting, "I exist! I exist."

0:02:52.010,0:02:56.863
(Applause)

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In many ways, "I exist" became[br]the clarion call for StoryCorps,

0:03:00.694,0:03:04.270
this crazy idea that I had[br]a dozen years ago.

0:03:04.270,0:03:06.499
The thought was to take[br]documentary work

0:03:06.499,0:03:08.356
and turn it on its head.

0:03:08.356,0:03:10.610
Traditionally, broadcast documentary

0:03:10.610,0:03:14.696
has been about recording interviews[br]to create a work of art or entertainment

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or education that is seen or heard[br]by a whole lot of people,

0:03:18.944,0:03:20.325
but I wanted to try something

0:03:20.325,0:03:23.473
where the interview itself[br]was the purpose of this work,

0:03:23.473,0:03:26.445
and see if we could give many,[br]many, many people the chance

0:03:26.445,0:03:29.069
to be listened to in this way.

0:03:29.069,0:03:32.119
So in Grand Central Terminal 11 years ago,

0:03:32.119,0:03:36.492
we built a booth where anyone [br]can come to honor someone else

0:03:36.492,0:03:39.503
by interviewing them about their life.

0:03:39.503,0:03:43.334
You come to this booth and you're met[br]by a facilitator who brings you inside.

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You sit across from, say, your grandfather

0:03:45.911,0:03:48.953
for close to an hour[br]and you listen and you talk.

0:03:48.953,0:03:52.645
Many people think of it as,[br]if this was to be our last conversation,

0:03:52.645,0:03:55.640
what would I want to ask of[br]and say to this person

0:03:55.640,0:03:57.916
who means so much to me?

0:03:57.916,0:04:01.203
At the end of the session,[br]you walk away with a copy of the interview

0:04:01.203,0:04:03.861
and another copy goes[br]to the American Folklife Center

0:04:03.861,0:04:06.119
at the Library of Congress

0:04:06.119,0:04:10.175
so that your great-great-great-grandkids[br]can someday get to know your grandfather

0:04:10.175,0:04:12.368
through his voice and story.

0:04:13.548,0:04:16.705
So we open this booth[br]in one of the busiest places in the world

0:04:16.705,0:04:20.188
and invite people to have this[br]incredibly intimate conversation

0:04:20.188,0:04:21.419
with another human being.

0:04:21.419,0:04:26.225
I had no idea if it would work,[br]but from the very beginning, it did.

0:04:26.225,0:04:29.104
People treated the experience[br]with incredible respect,

0:04:29.104,0:04:32.471
and amazing conversations happened inside.

0:04:32.471,0:04:35.002
I want to play just one animated excerpt

0:04:35.002,0:04:38.763
from an interview recorded[br]at that original Grand Central Booth.

0:04:38.763,0:04:43.291
This is 12-year-old Joshua Littman[br]interviewing his mother, Sarah.

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Josh has Asperger's syndrome.

0:04:45.497,0:04:48.562
As you may know, kids with Asperger's[br]are incredibly smart

0:04:48.562,0:04:50.721
but have a tough time socially.

0:04:50.721,0:04:52.370
They usually have obsessions.

0:04:52.370,0:04:54.576
In Josh's case, it's with animals,

0:04:54.576,0:04:57.199
so this is Josh talking with his mom Sarah

0:04:57.199,0:05:00.499
at Grand Central nine years ago.

0:05:00.499,0:05:02.776
(Video) Josh Littman:[br]From a scale of one to 10,

0:05:02.776,0:05:05.758
do you think your life would be[br]different without animals?

0:05:05.758,0:05:08.565
Sarah Littman: I think it would be[br]an eight without animals,

0:05:08.565,0:05:10.699
because they add so much pleasure to life.

0:05:10.699,0:05:13.898
JL: How else do you think your life[br]would be different without them?

0:05:13.898,0:05:16.617
SL: I could do without things[br]like cockroaches and snakes.

0:05:16.617,0:05:19.518
JL: Well, I'm okay with snakes[br]as long as they're not venomous

0:05:19.518,0:05:20.919
or constrict you or anything.

0:05:20.919,0:05:22.778
SL: Yeah, I'm not a big snake person --

0:05:22.778,0:05:25.288
JL: But cockroach is just[br]the insect we love to hate.

0:05:25.288,0:05:26.821
SL: Yeah, it really is.

0:05:26.821,0:05:29.955
JL: Have you ever thought[br]you couldn't cope with having a child?

0:05:29.955,0:05:33.345
SL: I remember when you were a baby,[br]you had really bad colic,

0:05:33.345,0:05:34.948
so you would just cry and cry.

0:05:34.948,0:05:38.105
JL: What's colic?[br]SL: It's when you get this stomach ache

0:05:38.105,0:05:40.590
and all you do is scream[br]for, like, four hours.

0:05:40.590,0:05:42.563
JL: Even louder than Amy does?

0:05:42.563,0:05:45.907
SL: You were pretty loud,[br]but Amy's was more high-pitched.

0:05:45.907,0:05:49.111
JL: I think it feels like everyone[br]seems to like Amy more,

0:05:49.111,0:05:51.781
like she's the perfect little angel.

0:05:51.781,0:05:55.644
SL: Well, I can understand[br]why you think that people like Amy more,

0:05:55.644,0:05:58.483
and I'm not saying it's because[br]of your Asperger's syndrome,

0:05:58.483,0:06:01.487
but being friendly comes easily to Amy,

0:06:01.487,0:06:03.902
whereas I think for you[br]it's more difficult,

0:06:03.902,0:06:07.942
but the people who take the time[br]to get to know you love you so much.

0:06:07.942,0:06:10.357
JL: Like Ben or Eric or Carlos?[br]SL: Yeah --

0:06:10.357,0:06:14.838
JL: Like I have better quality friends[br]but less quantity? (Laughter)

0:06:14.838,0:06:17.119
SL: I wouldn't judge[br]the quality, but I think --

0:06:17.119,0:06:20.887
JL: I mean, first it was like, Amy[br]loved Claudia, then she hated Claudia,

0:06:20.887,0:06:22.914
she loved Claudia, then she hated Claudia.

0:06:22.914,0:06:24.802
SL: Part of that's a girl thing, honey.

0:06:24.802,0:06:28.134
The important thing for you[br]is that you have a few very good friends,

0:06:28.134,0:06:30.160
and really that's what you need in life.

0:06:30.160,0:06:34.409
JL: Did I turn out to be the son[br]you wanted when I was born?

0:06:34.409,0:06:37.311
Did I meet your expectations?

0:06:37.311,0:06:40.074
SL: You've exceeded[br]my expectations, sweetie,

0:06:40.074,0:06:44.834
because, sure, you have these fantasies[br]of what your child's going to be like,

0:06:44.834,0:06:48.727
but you have made me grow[br]so much as a parent, because you think --

0:06:48.727,0:06:50.888
JL: Well, I was the one[br]who made you a parent.

0:06:50.888,0:06:54.375
SL: You were the one who made me a parent.[br]That's a good point. (Laughter)

0:06:54.375,0:06:56.199
But also because you think differently

0:06:56.199,0:06:59.102
from what they tell you[br]in the parenting books,

0:06:59.102,0:07:02.562
I really had to learn to think[br]outside of the box with you,

0:07:02.562,0:07:07.368
and it's made me much more creative[br]as a parent and as a person,

0:07:07.368,0:07:09.036
and I'll always thank you for that.

0:07:09.036,0:07:10.966
JL: And that helped when Amy was born?

0:07:10.966,0:07:15.800
SL: And that helped when Amy was born,[br]but you are so incredibly special to me

0:07:15.800,0:07:19.163
and I'm so lucky to have you as my son.

0:07:19.163,0:07:25.810
(Applause)

0:07:26.980,0:07:29.287
David Isay: After this story[br]ran on public radio,

0:07:29.287,0:07:31.051
Josh received hundreds of letters

0:07:31.051,0:07:33.373
telling him what an amazing kid he was.

0:07:33.373,0:07:35.602
His mom, Sarah, bound them[br]together in a book,

0:07:35.602,0:07:39.648
and when Josh got picked on at school,[br]they would read the letters together.

0:07:39.648,0:07:41.915
I just want to acknowledge[br]that two of my heroes

0:07:41.915,0:07:43.218
are here with us tonight.

0:07:43.218,0:07:48.019
Sarah Littman and her son Josh,[br]who is now an honors student in college.

0:07:48.019,0:07:51.809
(Applause)

0:07:51.809,0:07:55.691
You know, a lot of people talk about[br]crying when they hear StoryCorps stories,

0:07:55.691,0:07:57.638
and it's not because they're sad.

0:07:57.638,0:07:58.962
Most of them aren't.

0:07:58.962,0:08:02.015
I think it's because you're hearing[br]something authentic and pure

0:08:02.015,0:08:04.406
at this moment,[br]when sometimes it's hard to tell

0:08:04.406,0:08:07.402
what's real and what's an advertisement.

0:08:07.402,0:08:09.793
It's kind of the anti-reality TV.

0:08:09.793,0:08:11.906
Nobody comes to StoryCorps to get rich.

0:08:11.906,0:08:13.787
Nobody comes to get famous.

0:08:13.787,0:08:16.991
It's simply an act of generosity and love.

0:08:16.991,0:08:19.243
So many of these are just everyday people

0:08:19.243,0:08:24.375
talking about lives lived with kindness,[br]courage, decency and dignity,

0:08:24.375,0:08:26.372
and when you hear that kind of story,

0:08:26.372,0:08:30.755
it can sometimes feel[br]like you're walking on holy ground.

0:08:30.755,0:08:33.260
So this experiment [br]in Grand Central worked,

0:08:33.260,0:08:35.650
and we expanded across the country.

0:08:35.650,0:08:38.863
Today, more than 100,000 people[br]in all 50 states

0:08:38.863,0:08:41.719
in thousands of cities[br]and towns across America

0:08:41.719,0:08:44.064
have recorded StoryCorps interviews.

0:08:44.064,0:08:48.987
It's now the largest single collection[br]of human voices ever gathered.

0:08:48.987,0:08:54.815
(Applause)

0:08:54.815,0:08:57.253
We've hired and trained[br]hundreds of facilitators

0:08:57.253,0:08:59.969
to help guide people[br]through the experience.

0:08:59.969,0:09:02.384
Most serve a year or two with StoryCorps

0:09:02.384,0:09:05.821
traveling the country,[br]gathering the wisdom of humanity.

0:09:05.821,0:09:07.980
They call it bearing witness,

0:09:07.980,0:09:09.385
and if you ask them,

0:09:09.385,0:09:12.659
all of the facilitators will tell you[br]that the most important thing

0:09:12.659,0:09:15.527
they've learned from being present[br]during these interviews

0:09:15.527,0:09:18.963
is that people are basically good.

0:09:18.963,0:09:21.921
And I think for the first years[br]of StoryCorps, you could argue

0:09:21.921,0:09:24.557
that there was some kind[br]of a selection bias happening,

0:09:24.557,0:09:27.833
but after tens of thousands of interviews[br]with every kind of person

0:09:27.833,0:09:29.482
in every part of the country --

0:09:29.482,0:09:32.918
rich, poor, five years old to 105,

0:09:32.918,0:09:35.983
80 different languages,[br]across the political spectrum --

0:09:37.063,0:09:41.277
you have to think that maybe these guys[br]are actually onto something.

0:09:41.277,0:09:44.568
I've also learned so much[br]from these interviews.

0:09:44.568,0:09:47.772
I've learned about the poetry[br]and the wisdom and the grace

0:09:47.772,0:09:50.512
that can be found in the words[br]of people all around us

0:09:50.512,0:09:53.809
when we simply take the time to listen,

0:09:53.809,0:09:57.042
like this interview

0:09:57.042,0:10:00.380
between a betting clerk in Brooklyn[br]named Danny Perasa

0:10:00.380,0:10:05.442
who brought his wife Annie to StoryCorps[br]to talk about his love for her.

0:10:06.632,0:10:08.974
(Audio) Danny Perasa: You see,[br]the thing of it is,

0:10:08.974,0:10:11.450
I always feel guilty when I say[br]"I love you" to you.

0:10:11.450,0:10:14.358
And I say it so often.[br]I say it to remind you

0:10:14.358,0:10:17.214
that as dumpy as I am,[br]it's coming from me.

0:10:17.214,0:10:20.668
It's like hearing a beautiful song[br]from a busted old radio,

0:10:20.668,0:10:23.295
and it's nice of you to keep[br]the radio around the house.

0:10:23.295,0:10:26.101
Annie Perasa: If I don't have a note[br]on the kitchen table,

0:10:26.101,0:10:27.688
I think there's something wrong.

0:10:27.688,0:10:29.742
You write a love letter[br]to me every morning.

0:10:29.742,0:10:32.271
DP: Well, the only thing[br]that could possibly be wrong

0:10:32.271,0:10:33.804
is I couldn't find a silly pen.

0:10:33.804,0:10:34.831
AP: To my princess:

0:10:34.831,0:10:37.048
The weather outside today[br]is extremely rainy.

0:10:37.048,0:10:39.001
I'll call you at 11:20 in the morning.

0:10:39.001,0:10:40.817
DP: It's a romantic weather report.

0:10:40.817,0:10:43.567
AP: And I love you.[br]I love you. I love you.

0:10:43.567,0:10:46.666
DP: When a guy is happily married,[br]no matter what happens at work,

0:10:46.666,0:10:48.823
no matter what happens[br]in the rest of the day,

0:10:48.823,0:10:50.544
there's a shelter when you get home,

0:10:50.544,0:10:53.097
there's a knowledge knowing[br]that you can hug somebody

0:10:53.097,0:10:56.644
without them throwing you downstairs[br]and saying, "Get your hands off me."

0:10:56.644,0:10:59.271
Being married is like having[br]a color television set.

0:10:59.271,0:11:01.478
You never want to go back[br]to black and white.

0:11:01.478,0:11:04.820
(Laughter)

0:11:04.820,0:11:06.956
DI: Danny was about five feet tall

0:11:06.956,0:11:10.369
with crossed eyes[br]and one single snaggletooth,

0:11:10.369,0:11:14.061
but Danny Perasa had[br]more romance in his little pinky

0:11:14.061,0:11:17.174
than all of Hollywood's[br]leading men put together.

0:11:17.174,0:11:19.077
What else have I learned?

0:11:19.077,0:11:21.979
I've learned about the almost[br]unimaginable capacity

0:11:21.979,0:11:24.162
for the human spirit to forgive.

0:11:24.162,0:11:27.807
I've learned about resilience[br]and I've learned about strength.

0:11:27.807,0:11:31.150
Like an interview with Oshea Israel[br]and Mary Johnson.

0:11:31.150,0:11:35.701
When Oshea was a teenager,[br]he murdered Mary's only son,

0:11:35.701,0:11:38.186
Laramiun Byrd, in a gang fight.

0:11:38.186,0:11:40.786
A dozen years later, Mary went to prison

0:11:40.786,0:11:43.526
to meet Oshea and find out[br]who this person was

0:11:43.526,0:11:46.475
who had taken her son's life.

0:11:46.475,0:11:49.261
Slowly and remarkably,[br]they became friends,

0:11:49.261,0:11:51.955
and when he was finally released[br]from the penitentiary,

0:11:51.955,0:11:55.321
Oshea actually moved in next door to Mary.

0:11:55.321,0:11:58.526
This is just a short excerpt[br]of a conversation they had

0:11:58.526,0:12:01.069
soon after Oshea was freed.

0:12:02.079,0:12:05.051
(Video) Mary Johnson: My natural son[br]is no longer here.

0:12:05.051,0:12:08.835
I didn't see him graduate,[br]and now you're going to college.

0:12:08.835,0:12:12.132
I'll have the opportunity[br]to see you graduate.

0:12:12.132,0:12:14.593
I didn't see him get married.

0:12:14.593,0:12:18.502
Hopefully one day, I'll be able[br]to experience that with you.

0:12:18.502,0:12:21.199
Oshea Israel: Just to hear you[br]say those things and to be

0:12:21.199,0:12:24.859
in my life in the manner[br]in which you are is my motivation.

0:12:24.859,0:12:29.616
It motivates me to make sure[br]that I stay on the right path.

0:12:29.616,0:12:31.543
You still believe in me,

0:12:31.543,0:12:35.119
and the fact that you can do it[br]despite how much pain I caused you,

0:12:35.119,0:12:37.209
it's amazing.

0:12:37.209,0:12:43.106
MJ: I know it's not an easy thing[br]to be able to share our story together,

0:12:43.106,0:12:45.869
even with us sitting here[br]looking at each other right now.

0:12:45.869,0:12:51.616
I know it's not an easy thing,[br]so I admire that you can do this.

0:12:51.616,0:12:56.666
OI: I love you, lady.[br]MJ: I love you too, son.

0:13:00.156,0:13:06.372
(Applause)

0:13:06.372,0:13:11.526
DI: And I've been reminded countless times[br]of the courage and goodness of people,

0:13:11.526,0:13:16.588
and how the arc of history[br]truly does bend towards justice.

0:13:16.588,0:13:21.069
Like the story of Alexis Martinez,[br]who was born Arthur Martinez

0:13:21.069,0:13:23.693
in the Harold Ickes projects in Chicago.

0:13:23.693,0:13:26.526
In the interview, she talks[br]with her daughter Lesley

0:13:26.526,0:13:28.894
about joining a gang as a young man,

0:13:28.894,0:13:33.724
and later in life transitioning[br]into the woman she was always meant to be.

0:13:33.724,0:13:36.223
This is Alexis and her daughter Lesley.

0:13:36.223,0:13:39.482
(Audio) Alexis Martinez: One of the most[br]difficult things for me was

0:13:39.482,0:13:42.408
I was always afraid that[br]I wouldn't be allowed

0:13:42.408,0:13:45.287
to be in my granddaughters' lives,

0:13:45.287,0:13:47.585
and you blew that completely[br]out of the water,

0:13:47.585,0:13:48.909
you and your husband.

0:13:48.909,0:13:52.369
One of the fruits of that is,[br]in my relationship with my granddaughters,

0:13:52.369,0:13:55.946
they fight with each other sometimes[br]over whether I'm he or she.

0:13:55.946,0:13:58.433
Lesley Martinez: But they're free[br]to talk about it.

0:13:58.433,0:14:01.489
AM: They're free to talk about it,[br]but that, to me, is a miracle.

0:14:01.489,0:14:04.791
LM: You don't have to apologize.[br]You don't have to tiptoe.

0:14:04.791,0:14:09.372
We're not going to cut you off,[br]and that's something I've always

0:14:09.372,0:14:12.337
wanted you to just know,[br]that you're loved.

0:14:12.337,0:14:14.682
AM: You know, I live this every day now.

0:14:14.682,0:14:19.806
I walk down the streets as a woman,[br]and I really am at peace with who I am.

0:14:19.806,0:14:22.460
I mean, I wish I had a softer voice maybe,

0:14:22.460,0:14:28.332
but now I walk in love[br]and I try to live that way every day.

0:14:31.562,0:14:34.906
DI: Now I walk in love.

0:14:34.906,0:14:37.808
I'm going to tell you[br]a secret about StoryCorps.

0:14:37.808,0:14:41.193
It takes some courage[br]to have these conversations.

0:14:41.193,0:14:43.584
StoryCorps speaks to our mortality.

0:14:43.584,0:14:47.601
Participants know this recording[br]will be heard long after they're gone.

0:14:47.601,0:14:50.285
There's a hospice doctor named Ira Byock

0:14:50.285,0:14:52.829
who has worked closely with us[br]on recording interviews

0:14:52.829,0:14:54.286
with people who are dying.

0:14:54.286,0:14:57.051
He wrote a book called[br]"The Four Things That Matter Most"

0:14:57.051,0:15:00.882
about the four things you want to say[br]to the most important people in your life

0:15:00.882,0:15:03.924
before they or you die:

0:15:03.924,0:15:06.455
thank you, I love you,

0:15:06.455,0:15:09.682
forgive me, I forgive you.

0:15:09.682,0:15:13.212
They're just about the most powerful words[br]we can say to one another,

0:15:13.212,0:15:16.718
and often that's what happens[br]in a StoryCorps booth.

0:15:16.718,0:15:20.095
It's a chance to have a sense of closure[br]with someone you care about --

0:15:20.095,0:15:22.917
no regrets, nothing left unsaid.

0:15:22.917,0:15:26.354
And it's hard and it takes courage,

0:15:26.354,0:15:29.579
but that's why we're alive, right?

0:15:31.299,0:15:33.802
So, the TED Prize.

0:15:33.802,0:15:36.779
When I first heard from TED[br]and Chris a few months ago

0:15:36.779,0:15:40.615
about the possibility of the Prize,[br]I was completely floored.

0:15:40.615,0:15:44.186
They asked me to come up[br]with a very brief wish for humanity,

0:15:44.186,0:15:45.950
no more than 50 words.

0:15:45.950,0:15:48.694
So I thought about it,[br]I wrote my 50 words,

0:15:48.694,0:15:53.381
and a few weeks later,[br]Chris called and said, "Go for it."

0:15:53.381,0:15:56.329
So here is my wish:

0:15:56.329,0:15:59.278
that you will help us

0:15:59.278,0:16:02.018
take everything we've learned[br]through StoryCorps

0:16:02.018,0:16:04.781
and bring it to the world

0:16:04.781,0:16:08.798
so that anyone anywhere[br]can easily record a meaningful interview

0:16:08.798,0:16:13.715
with another human being[br]which will then be archived for history.

0:16:13.715,0:16:18.393
How are we going to do that? With this.

0:16:18.393,0:16:22.071
We're fast moving into a future[br]where everyone in the world

0:16:22.071,0:16:24.114
will have access to one of these,

0:16:24.114,0:16:27.945
and it has powers I never[br]could have imagined 11 years ago

0:16:27.945,0:16:29.895
when I started StoryCorps.

0:16:29.895,0:16:31.358
It has a microphone,

0:16:31.358,0:16:33.669
it can tell you how to do things,

0:16:33.669,0:16:36.200
and it can send audio files.

0:16:36.200,0:16:38.522
Those are the key ingredients.

0:16:38.522,0:16:41.726
So the first part of the wish[br]is already underway.

0:16:41.726,0:16:43.305
Over the past couple of months,

0:16:43.305,0:16:46.300
the team at StoryCorps[br]has been working furiously

0:16:46.300,0:16:49.760
to create an app that will bring[br]StoryCorps out of our booths

0:16:49.760,0:16:55.193
so that it can be experienced[br]by anyone, anywhere, anytime.

0:16:55.193,0:16:58.874
Remember, StoryCorps has always[br]been two people and a facilitator

0:16:58.874,0:17:02.839
helping them record their conversation,[br]which is preserved forever,

0:17:02.839,0:17:04.887
but at this very moment,

0:17:04.887,0:17:08.533
we're releasing a public beta version[br]of the StoryCorps app.

0:17:08.533,0:17:11.720
The app is a digital facilitator[br]that walks you through

0:17:11.720,0:17:14.105
the StoryCorps interview process,

0:17:14.105,0:17:15.777
helps you pick questions,

0:17:15.777,0:17:17.867
and gives you all the tips you need

0:17:17.867,0:17:20.676
to record a meaningful[br]StoryCorps interview,

0:17:20.676,0:17:26.197
and then with one tap upload it [br]to our archive at the Library of Congress.

0:17:26.197,0:17:29.337
That's the easy part, the technology.

0:17:29.337,0:17:31.715
The real challenge is up to you:

0:17:31.715,0:17:34.913
to take this tool and figure out[br]how we can use it

0:17:34.913,0:17:37.878
all across America and around the world,

0:17:37.878,0:17:41.462
so that instead of recording[br]thousands of StoryCorps interviews a year,

0:17:41.462,0:17:44.232
we could potentially record[br]tens of thousands

0:17:44.232,0:17:46.188
or hundreds of thousands

0:17:46.188,0:17:48.185
or maybe even more.

0:17:49.355,0:17:53.093
Imagine, for example,[br]a national homework assignment

0:17:53.093,0:17:57.087
where every high school student[br]studying U.S. history across the country

0:17:57.087,0:17:59.989
records an interview[br]with an elder over Thanksgiving,

0:17:59.989,0:18:02.892
so that in one single weekend

0:18:02.892,0:18:07.977
an entire generation of American lives[br]and experiences are captured.

0:18:07.977,0:18:13.512
(Applause)

0:18:15.812,0:18:19.354
Or imagine mothers on opposite[br]sides of a conflict somewhere in the world

0:18:19.354,0:18:22.976
sitting down not to talk[br]about that conflict

0:18:22.976,0:18:25.173
but to find out who they are as people,

0:18:25.173,0:18:29.128
and in doing so,[br]begin to build bonds of trust;

0:18:29.128,0:18:32.014
or that someday it becomes[br]a tradition all over the world

0:18:32.014,0:18:34.522
that people are honored[br]with a StoryCorps interview

0:18:34.522,0:18:36.765
on their 75th birthday;

0:18:36.765,0:18:39.041
or that people in your community

0:18:39.041,0:18:44.195
go into retirement homes or hospitals[br]or homeless shelters or even prisons

0:18:44.195,0:18:47.725
armed with this app to honor the people[br]least heard in our society

0:18:47.725,0:18:50.711
and ask them who they are,[br]what they've learned in life,

0:18:50.711,0:18:53.172
and how they want to be remembered.

0:18:53.172,0:18:58.707
(Applause)

0:19:00.947,0:19:04.224
Ten years ago, I recorded[br]a StoryCorps interview with my dad

0:19:04.224,0:19:09.019
who was a psychiatrist,[br]and became a well-known gay activist.

0:19:09.019,0:19:12.456
This is the picture[br]of us at that interview.

0:19:12.456,0:19:15.637
I never thought about that recording[br]until a couple of years ago,

0:19:15.637,0:19:18.632
when my dad, who seemed[br]to be in perfect health

0:19:18.632,0:19:21.233
and was still seeing patients[br]40 hours a week,

0:19:21.233,0:19:23.996
was diagnosed with cancer.

0:19:23.996,0:19:27.386
He passed away very suddenly[br]a few days later.

0:19:27.386,0:19:29.661
It was June 28, 2012,

0:19:29.661,0:19:34.041
the anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

0:19:34.041,0:19:37.398
I listened to that interview[br]for the first time at three in the morning

0:19:37.398,0:19:39.126
on the day that he died.

0:19:39.126,0:19:41.123
I have a couple of young kids at home,

0:19:41.123,0:19:44.582
and I knew that the only way[br]they were going to get to know this person

0:19:44.582,0:19:49.428
who was such a towering figure in my life[br]would be through that session.

0:19:49.428,0:19:53.173
I thought I couldn't believe in StoryCorps[br]any more deeply than I did,

0:19:53.173,0:19:54.961
but it was at that moment

0:19:54.961,0:19:59.820
that I fully and viscerally grasped[br]the importance of making these recordings.

0:19:59.820,0:20:01.913
Every day, people come up to me

0:20:01.913,0:20:06.074
and say, "I wish I had interviewed[br]my father or my grandmother or my brother,

0:20:06.074,0:20:08.342
but I waited too long."

0:20:08.342,0:20:10.478
Now, no one has to wait anymore.

0:20:10.478,0:20:12.158
At this moment,

0:20:12.158,0:20:15.700
when so much of how we communicate[br]is fleeting and inconsequential,

0:20:15.700,0:20:18.197
join us in creating this digital archive

0:20:18.197,0:20:22.514
of conversations that are[br]enduring and important.

0:20:22.514,0:20:25.344
Help us create this gift to our children,

0:20:25.344,0:20:29.342
this testament to who[br]we are as human beings.

0:20:29.342,0:20:33.268
I hope you'll help us make[br]this wish come true.

0:20:33.268,0:20:37.779
Interview a family member, a friend[br]or even a stranger.

0:20:37.779,0:20:44.069
Together, we can create an archive[br]of the wisdom of humanity,

0:20:44.069,0:20:45.703
and maybe in doing so,

0:20:45.703,0:20:49.665
we'll learn to listen a little more[br]and shout a little less.

0:20:49.665,0:20:54.193
Maybe these conversations will remind us[br]what's really important.

0:20:54.193,0:20:56.956
And maybe, just maybe,

0:20:56.956,0:20:59.742
it will help us recognize[br]that simple truth

0:20:59.742,0:21:03.689
that every life, every single life,

0:21:03.689,0:21:06.624
matters equally and infinitely.

0:21:06.624,0:21:08.755
Thank you very much.

0:21:08.755,0:21:10.905
(Applause)

0:21:10.905,0:21:15.113
Thank you. Thank you.

0:21:15.113,0:21:17.389
(Applause)

0:21:17.389,0:21:19.571
Thank you.

0:21:19.571,0:21:24.935
(Applause)